Prior art workers have devised many types of fastener driving tools. As used herein and in the claims, the term "fastener" is to be considered in the broadest sense, referring to substantially any fastener capable of being driven into a workpiece. Examples of such fasteners are headed nails, headless nails, staples and clamp nails (of the general type taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,047).
Perhaps the most common form of fastener driving tool is a pneumatically actuated tool. Prior art workers have developed a multiplicity of pneumatically actuated fastener driving tools to a high degree of safety and sophistication, of which the tool taught in U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,659 is exemplary.
More recently, there has been considerable interest in electro-mechanical fastener driving tools utilizing a solenoid mechanism or a flywheel mechanism to drive the fasteners. Electro-mechanical fastener driving tools are of particular interest for home use and industrial use where a source of compressed air is not readily available. An example of such a tool is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,298,072.
The fastener driving tools thus far described are of the single-blow variety, wherein the fastener is driven home by a single impact of the driver.
Prior art workers have also developed various types of multiple impact fastener driving tools, wherein the fastener is driven home by a plurality of impacts applied thereto by the driver. An example of a multiple impact tool is taught in co-pending application Ser. No. 06/627,428, filed July 3, 1984, in the name of Carl T. Becht, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,625,903, and entitled "MULTIPLE IMPACT FASTENER DRIVING TOOL". The teachings of the present invention are applicable to both basic types of fastener driving tools, and the nature of the fastener driving tool, itself, does not constitute a limitation with respect to the present invention, except as set forth in the claims.
Interchangeable magaziness for fastener driving tools are not, in and of themselves, new. Many prior art fastener driving tools were capable of having different magazines applied thereto to affect a change in fastener size, or the like. However, to make such a conversion from one magazine to another, required a number of tools and the changing of a number of parts and assemblies. In point of fact, the magazines of current prior art fastener driving tools are not easily interchanged.
One of the primary purposes of the present invention is to provide a magazine system whereby a single power unit can readily accept many different magazines, containing different types of fasteners, which can be mounted without the aid of tools or any significant mechanical skill.
The magazine system of the present invention has a number of advantages. As indicated above, the system can be used in conjunction with multiple impact-type fastener driving tools and with single impact-type fastener driving tools. A number of different types of fasteners can be driven by a single fastener driving tool, by simply manually detaching one magazine (containing one type of fastener) from the tool and manually mounting another magazine (containing another type of fastener) in its place. Each magazine carries its own driver, which can be easily interfaced with the driver operating mechanism of the fastener driving tool and which is appropriate for the particular type of fastener contained within the magazine. Because of the simplicity of the magazine structure and the manner in which it is mounted to the fastener driving tool, the system can utilize single-use, disposable magazines or magazines designed to be reloaded and reused.
In a single-blow fastener driving tool, the magazine should be rigidly affixable to the tool. In a multiple-blow tool, the magazine must be shiftable with respect to the tool housing to accommodate for the constant length of the driver and the diminishing length of that portion of the fastener remaining to be driven into the workpiece, during the driving operation. To meet these requirements, the present invention contemplates four embodiments of the magazine system. In a first embodiment, a plurality of different magazines containing different types of fasteners are mountable directly to the housing of a multiple-blow tool in guided, sliding relationship to the housing. In a second embodiment, the housing of a multiple-blow tool is provided with a carrier capable of easily mounting interchangeable magazines containing different types of fasteners. The carrier, itself, is mounted in the tool housing in guided, sliding relationship thereto. In a third embodiment, interchangeable magazines containing different types of fasteners are manually mountable to the housing of a single-blow tool in fixed relationship thereto. In a fourth embodiment, a single-blow tool is provided with a carrier fixedly mounted to the tool housing (or constituting an integral part thereof) to which different magazines containing different types of fasteners can be manually and interchangeably mounted.
The magazines of the system of the present invention incorporate means to feed a plurality of fasteners successively into a position to be driven, means to guide the forwardmost fastener as it is being driven, and a fastener driving means. These feeding, guiding and driving means will vary in nature, depending upon the type of fastener contained within the magazine and do not constitute a part of the present invention. The fastener driving tool is provided with means by which the magazine driver can be associated with and disassociated from the driver operating mechanism of the tool. Again, this means does not constitute a part of the present invention.